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Going to college is only nominally about acquiring knowledge. In reality it’s about acquiring a credential. All of the gatekeeping involved in admissions and ex

Going to college is only nominally about acquiring knowledge. In reality it’s about acquiring a credential. All of the gatekeeping involved in admissions and examinations is to protect the value of the credential. The reason MOOC certificates are largely worthless as a credential is because there are NO safeguards against cheating.

gumby 3y ago
There’s a lot more to an MIT education than the credential. I won’t argue that the credential isn’t useful in that certain people are more willing to consider taking you seriously the first time they meet you (foot in the door), but people with that credential do still fail. And seriously, when does where you went to school even come up, except on a resume (that “foot in the door”)
- tjpnz 3y ago
  >And seriously, when does where you went to school even come up, except on a resume (that “foot in the door”) Ever met someone who went to Harvard?
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - gumby 3y ago
    ha! As they saying goes: "Harvard people boast that they 'went to school in Cambridge' because they're embarrassed they couldn't get into MIT"
- dragonwriter 3y ago
  > I won’t argue that the credential isn’t useful in that certain people are more willing to consider taking you seriously the first time they meet you If you think that isn't immensely useful, you are vastly underestimating the significance of other people's first pass filters in any person's opportunity for success.
  - gumby 3y ago
    But people only hear where you went to school when applying for a job. In any other kind of human interaction, who cares?
- aklemm 3y ago
  It comes up frequently in several fields and on the East Coast. There’s an entire layer of our economy and government that all but requires the right college to be on your resume.
kiba 3y ago
Most people are never taught to learn on their own or how to self manage the process of gaining knowledge.

gumby 3y ago

There’s a lot more to an MIT education than the credential. I won’t argue that the credential isn’t useful in that certain people are more willing to consider taking you seriously the first time they meet you (foot in the door), but people with that credential do still fail. And seriously, when does where you went to school even come up, except on a resume (that “foot in the door”)

tjpnz 3y ago
>And seriously, when does where you went to school even come up, except on a resume (that “foot in the door”) Ever met someone who went to Harvard?
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- gumby 3y ago
  ha! As they saying goes: "Harvard people boast that they 'went to school in Cambridge' because they're embarrassed they couldn't get into MIT"
dragonwriter 3y ago
> I won’t argue that the credential isn’t useful in that certain people are more willing to consider taking you seriously the first time they meet you If you think that isn't immensely useful, you are vastly underestimating the significance of other people's first pass filters in any person's opportunity for success.
- gumby 3y ago
  But people only hear where you went to school when applying for a job. In any other kind of human interaction, who cares?
aklemm 3y ago
It comes up frequently in several fields and on the East Coast. There’s an entire layer of our economy and government that all but requires the right college to be on your resume.

kiba 3y ago

Most people are never taught to learn on their own or how to self manage the process of gaining knowledge.